Dissidia Duodeciem: The Lost Chapters
by TacticDave
Summary: Join Lightning as she escapes from where she left off at; in the Rift.
1. Prologue Lightnings Focus

_I never did sign up for this crap._

_I never would have, either._

_I got dragged into this,_

_ was used like a pawn,_

_ and got discarded._

_And now, I'm gonna die here, too._

_But it's not just me. Laguna, Vaan..._

_Tifa, Yuna, even Kain!_

_I lead them all here, to the Rift._

_Now, we're all gonna die here, in the Rift._

_But not if I can help it._

_I can't give up just yet..._

_Get up, Lightning! Get... up...!_


	2. Ch1  Final seconds

Lightning staggered to her feet.

She was amazed that she had the strength to stand.

_I can still fight_, she thought, _if I have to_.

In front of her was an army, a sea of manikins,

and at her feet, slumped on the ground, was Kain.

She got down to check him. No pulse. Dead.

"Oh, Kain..." She wept for a second, then steeled herself.

_This is no time for crying,_ she chided. _It is time for escape._

With that, she took up Kains lance, and, using it as a brace,

started to limp away. The manakins, some fully formed,

some half formed, and a few little more than globs, chased after her.

_I'll never get out of here alive. Why do I try?_

There, before her, was Vaan's body. It lay slumped on the ground.

With the manakins behind her, Lightning tried to speed up, but ended

up falling on the ground, next to Vaan.

She looked over at her fallen comrade...

_He's still breathing! I MUST get him out of here!_

She tried to get up, but a manakin appeared next to her,

and kicked Lightning's newly-claimed spear out from under her.

She hit the ground hard, hard enough to knock the wind from her.

Lightning recovered fast, but was still on the ground. She looked

up in manakin that had knocked the spear from her was

an exact copy of herself, right down to her weapon.

_Figures,_ she spat. _Killed by myself. The best one for the job,_

_a fake me._

Lightning closed her eyes. Death will come faster this way.

"Good-bye, everyone."


	3. Ch2  The Mysterious Swordsman

Then there was a swing...

...And the clash of steel.

Lightning opened her eyes to see the manikin copy of her fall to

the ground, bleeding out a thick, black smoke from a single wound

in its chest.

There was a man behind the manikin, dressed in red armor, a gold

sword in hand, with more weapons on his body.

"Good thing I drew this one, it's just what I needed! You ok?"

"Peachy, thanks."

"Quick, I know a way out of here! I'll lead the way, come on!

"Wait," Lightning responded. "I... I can't get up. I'm… too injured to stand."

"And my friend, I can't just leave him here," she said, guesturing to Vaan.

"Well, why didn't you just say so! Here, use this." The man in red

dug around a bit, and finally produced a potion, and tossed it to her.

She used it almost as soon as she had a hold on it.

She could feel her strength return to her!

"Thanks. Now, lets get out of here!"

Lightning barely had to struggle to get to her feet.

"Right this way, and hurry, before they find us."

Lightning grabbed Vaan, and followed the stranger.

_This strange man, why does he want to help me?_

The man charged straight into a crowd of manikins.

His fighting style... he just grabs whatever he can!

He isn't even paying attention to what he's using!

But somehow, it worked, because, lying on the ground were a bunch

of manikins, all oozing the black smoke.

"This way, it isn't far to the portal!"


	4. Ch3 Travelers of the Void

"And then I dodged his strike, like this... And his attack was so wild,

that, when I dodged, his blade got stuck in the ground! And he was

such a coward that all it took from me to scare him off was a good kick!"

Gilgamesh was recounting a battle he had once been in.

Lightning was sure that the story was mostly crap and boasting, but

the stories did take everyone's mind off of their friends that they

hadn't been able to rescue. Of their group, Only Vaan, Laguna, and

herself had survived. Kain and Yuna had not, and they never found Tifa,

or, more likely, her dead body.

An eerie silence descended their camp, as Gilgamesh's story was long

finished. Only the crackling of the fire in front of them broke the

silence, until Laguna asked "So, how do we get out of this, err,

wherever we are?"

"A-ha, this is the Void that I have led you into. The Void chooses

when it will let you leave." responded Gilgamesh. "It is a savage

place, unless you know what I know about the Void!"

"So, we just have to wait for a portal to appear, and then see where

it leads to?" asked Vaan, his mood rapidly improving.

"Yeah, err, something like that."

_Great. Now we wait for something to happen. Just my style._ thought

Lightning, half disgusted by the news, half thankful that this might

all be over soon.

Another dreary silence fell upon the group.

Then a yawn erupted from Laguna. "Well, if were just gonna sit

around, we might as well get some sleep. Unless anyone objects?"

"I must leave early in the morning." Gilgamesh quickly responded.

"In order to look for portals, so you three will have to split

the watch."

"I'll take the middle one." The middle shift was always the toughest.

You had to wake up, but then go back to sleep hours later.

_Might as well. The others wouldn't want it._

And with that, everyone, with exception to Vaan, went to sleep.


End file.
